Weeks after the heartbreak of falling 52 runs short in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 final against hosts India, South Africa are preparing for a busy December that will carry them across six venues and two formats.
From 05–19 December, the Proteas Women will meet Ireland in a white-ball tour stretching from Cape Town and Paarl to Benoni, East London, Gqeberha and Johannesburg—a series that also doubles as a crucial steppingstone towards the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, now just under eight months away.
The announcement of South Africa’s squads has brought renewed energy into a team that already boasts consecutive runners-up finishes in the previous two T20 World Cup editions—2023, where they fell to Australia in the final, and 2024, where New Zealand edged past them.
Yet nothing has sparked more excitement than the dramatic return of former captain Dané van Niekerk, whose reappearance marks her first national selection since September 2021. After reversing her international retirement in August, the 32-year-old has powered through the domestic season for WSB Western Province, producing four half-centuries and a 40 across her last six innings—form too commanding for selectors to overlook.
Van Niekerk’s comeback aligns with a broader pattern of renewal within South Africa’s structures. Wicketkeeper-batter Faye Tunnicliffe, rewarded for strong showings in the domestics, and leg-spinner Seshnie Naidu, who re-enters after her involvement in last year’s T20 World Cup buildup, also return.
They rejoin a senior core led by captain Laura Wolvaardt, supported by versatile performers Suné Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Chloé Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Nondumiso Shangase and Annerie Dercksen. The bowling group continues to be anchored by Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka and Masabata Klaas, while the gloves will be shared between Sinalo Jafta and Karabo Meso in both formats.
Where the T20I squad remains stacked with frontline World Cup performers, the ODI group signals either a deliberate shift towards the next global cycle or workload management. After their historic maiden appearance in an ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup final, South Africa have opted for a refreshed 15 that differs significantly from the squad seen at this year’s event.
Absent from the ODI list are Ayabonga Khaka, Tryon, de Klerk, Kapp, Dercksen, Anneke Bosch and Klaas—names central to the 2025 World Cup campaign but now either resting or focusing on the T20I format. Their vacancies open the door for a new cluster of opportunities.
Among the most notable inclusions is Leah Jones, the 24-year-old Western Province captain, who earns her first international call-up and could debut alongside domestic teammates Lara Goodall and Tunnicliffe. Goodall returns to ODIs for the first time since the Tri-Series in Sri Lanka earlier this year, while Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx rejoin the setup after narrowly missing World Cup selection.
They form a fresh unit around established figures such as Wolvaardt, Luus, Mlaba, Shangase, Tumi Sekhukhune, Miané Smit and opening batter Tazmin Brits—whose absence from the T20I squad stems from a return-to-play programme following a shoulder knock suffered in the semi-final.
Squads:
T20Is
Laura Wolvaardt (C), Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Nondumiso Shangase, Chloé Tryon, Faye Tunnicliffe, Dané van Niekerk
ODIs
Laura Wolvaardt (C), Tazmin Brits, Lara Goodall, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Leah Jones, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Miané Smit, Faye Tunnicliffe, Dané van Niekerk
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